Rassie Erasmus was candid in his assessment after the Springboks laboured to a 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday, acknowledging the performance fell short of the standards expected but taking heart from the grit displayed by a side missing rhythm and fluency.

The world champions entered the break locked at 10-10 before Cameron Hanekom's converted try in the 62nd minute broke the deadlock. South Africa then withstood a fierce late onslaught from Los Pumas to secure the win, though the manner of it left Erasmus under no illusions about the work ahead.

"We looked leg-weary early on, gave up a lot of territory, and made errors which we knew were likely with seven or eight players having played very little rugby in the last six or seven weeks," Erasmus said. "I always expected us to look disjointed, having left 15 players back in South Africa. Argentina play a different style of rugby, and the stadium is genuinely intimidating, but it's a win although it wasn't pretty and perfect. That said, we are happy with the result and with the way we ground it out."

The match marked the return of several key figures from injury, including Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, all of whom had played minimal rugby in recent weeks. Kolisi's comeback was cut short when he departed inside 25 minutes with a hamstring setback, a fortnight before the All Blacks series begins. Etzebeth and De Jager, however, impressed across the full 80 minutes, while the bench—featuring Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Ben-Jason Dixon and Cobus Wiese—provided crucial impact in the second period to swing the set-piece battle.

Erasmus identified defensive solidity as the foundation of the win, noting that conceding only one try—from an offload that should have been stopped—pointed to a largely intact defensive structure. Discipline, too, was relatively sound. The attack, by contrast, remains a concern. "What we need to sort out is our attack," he said. "A number of players were short on game time returning from injury, but getting them through 80 minutes was always going to affect our fluency. The positive is that we got them through the game."

Handre Pollard steadied matters after Feinberg-Mngomezulu's early errors, making smart decisions with ball in hand to guide the side home. Hanekom, despite conceding needless penalties, was among the standout forwards, delivering big hits, strong carries and turnovers at the breakdown.

With the All Blacks arriving for a four-Test series starting at Ellis Park on 22 August, Erasmus now faces a fortnight to assess injuries and restore cohesion. The victory was functional rather than fluent, but it achieved the primary objective: match fitness for returning personnel and two competition points banked in testing circumstances. Whether that proves sufficient preparation for New Zealand will become clear soon enough.